What to do with five days at Gold Coasts’ Surfers Paradise? A lot, if you’re into surfing, shopping, and theme parks. But we’re totally not into surfing, shopping, and theme parks. So, I was wondering myself why I booked a total of five long days here instead of stretching our stay for a day or more at Byron Bay—a town which we feel a deeper connection with.

SURFERS PARADISE FROM OUR BALCONY AT RHAPSODY HOTEL

Our first and second day at Surfers Paradise was spent on a forced staycation at the Rhapsody Hotel. Incessant rain kept us in, but I’m not complaining. With friends in tow, a cache of grocery food to cook, and plenty of alcohol, we were more than happy to stay cooped up.

►CHECK RHAPSODY HOTEL DISCOUNTED RATES

RAINY DAY AT HARBOUR TOWN SHOPPING MALL

THE MALL HAS MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED OUTLET SHOPS

On one of those days, we sort of went out, Ubering ourselves to Harbour Town for a day of shopping. The open-air mall has over two hundred outlet stores and was a total delight to our friends—them going crazy like kids on a candy store, us, bemusedly watching them from a distance.

►BOOK DISCOUNTED TOURS IN SURFERS PARADISE

LATE LUNCH AT NONNA’S

STEAK TOPPED WITH SHRIMPS? POSSIBLE!

Over steaks at Nonna’s, one of the restaurants inside the mall, they gushed over the discounted items they bought—shoes, laptop cases, designer clothes—while we showed them the grocery stuff we bought from the supermarket, we’re dull like that, lol. Although, I have to admit I was terribly tempted to buy a pair of Chuck Taylor, which were really cheap, and a Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker three-disc box set. But corned beef won over everything else.

►FIND THE CHEAPEST FLIGHT TO BRISBANE

CAVILL AVENUE, SURFERS PARADISE’S MAIN DRAG

THE GOLD COAST LIGHT RAILWAY TRAM, WHICH WE DIDN’T GET TO RIDE

Eventually, our friends had to leave—J to Manila for his lawyering duties, and G to her hometown of Ballina to tend to her daughter and numerous side jobs—we were finally left to our own devices. Good thing the sky started to clear and the sun finally peeked through. We were forced to unglue our behinds from the comforts of the sofa and explore Surfers Paradise.

THE MAIN SHOPPING AREA AT SURFERS PARADISE

WE WINDOW-SHOPPED A BIT, BUT MAINLY, WE WENT TO THE GROCERIES

But as I mentioned, we’re really not into theme parks, which Surfers Paradise is really known for, so we simply headed to Cavill Avenue, the town’s main drag where the malls are. We window-shopped a bit, buying a few souvenirs here and there, and of course, checked out the numerous supermarkets in the area—our happy place, haha.

SURFERS PARADISE BEACH

IT WAS EXTREMELY WINDY

AND THE WAVES WERE MONSTROUS

The beach sits right beside the malls, and we thought we’d have a better time there. Unfortunately, the wind was just too freakin’ strong, whipping spitful of very fine sand right at us like Gambit throwing his energized cards—it hurts like heck when they hit!

►SEE: AUSTRALIA ITINERARY 10 DAYS

WE TRIED VERY HARD TO ENJOY THE BEACH

The water was no good for swimming too as the Pacific was just too wild. In fact numerous signs were posted right on the shore warning swimmers. Our plan of rolling a mat and chilling on the beach, with maybe a few cans of expensive Aussie beer in hand was canned. We tried hanging out at the boardwalk adjacent to the beach, but the wind still got to us. We called it quits after half an hour of our hair going everywhere.

PARKS ALONG THE RIVER AREAS

Surfers Paradise has numerous inland rivers. That’s where we found our respite. Most of the areas are well-landscaped and devoid of tourists—but that might be due more to the dour weather than anything else. We finally got to hang out in relative peace, but there’s really not much to see since there weren’t that many people to people-watch. Swimming was also out of the question since, one, the weather was freezing, and two, there are sharks on the water. Yes, real sharks. On rivers.

RAFFLES PLACE ROYALE, OUR SECOND HOME AT SURFERS PARADISE

COOKING TIME!

By this time, we have already transferred to another hotel a few blocks away from our previous, Raffles Place Royale. The name does suggest luxury, but don’t let that fool you, tee hee. In all fairness, our apartment has everything we needed (full kitchen!) and our lady host was very kind. What it lacks though is style, our room felt like it was left behind in the eighties, lol.

We escaped Gold Coast on our last full day in Surfers Paradise, booking a Brisbane Day Tour via Klook. At last, something to do.

 

SCOOT HAS DAILY PROMO FARES FROM MANILA TO AUSTRALIA

SCOOT, KLOOK, AND ONE VINE MIGRATION MADE OUR TRIP TO AUSTRALIA POSSIBLE. VIEWS AND OPINION ALL MINE.

 

Raffles Place Royale ►ROOM RATES
Address: Raffles 69 Ferny Avenue, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Contact Number: +61 (7) 5538-0099
Email: info@rafflesroyale.com.au
GPS Coordinates Map: -27.9975976,153.4253125